Perfectly Suited

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony Stark was too old to play games. Every time he ran hot and cold with his partner was never a calculated power play so much as a deeply embedded habit built around mitigating whatever anxiety he’d built up. Even the old days full of ninja crawling out of bed just to avoid the morning after spiel were motivated by the intimidation (in part) of having them at all.

He’d gotten better at that part, though. Far better. Tony was curled up on the side of the long-suffering pink couch that wasn’t bearing a warped arm rest caused by some make-up rapporto sessuale from earlier in the evening, followed by a shower and the ceremonial poptart.

“You know—“ Tony brushed off some crumbs from his dark sweater, “You are terrible for my diet.”

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[st_ormbreaker]

Thor leans forward and presses a kiss to Tony's forehead. It's probably best if he doesn't push this any further than this. He only wishes he knew what kid Tony was talking about. Some kid he had never met. That narrowed things down a little. Not Maria, not Annie, not Peter, not Liz. He wasn't sure if Tony had met Peter's doppelganger, but he might have described him as that instead of "some kid he hadn't met".

That left Moana, Makoto, Miguel, Tyrone, and the other River -- though it was possible he might have already met some of them, too.

"Don't worry about it, then," Thor says, though he himself is worried about it now.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“I’m sorry.” Tony gruffly murmured, still beside himself. He had a long history with repression, but this time it was his own brain keeping secrets while he demanded better of it. “I’m...sorry. Pushing you out. Pushing you away.”

[st_ormbreaker]

"It's okay. I just wish that I understood what was going on in your head sometimes."

Thor generally shared fairly easily. Tony on the other hand didn't... and when he did, Thor often felt as though he was only getting half the picture.

Or maybe less.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“Weren’t those your last words to me? Calling me inexplicable.” Tony brushed their noses together, his breathing beginning to slow. “God, I missed you.”

[st_ormbreaker]

"I missed you too." Those years mostly-away from Earth and the week they had spent apart. Thor always made an attempt to keep busy, but that week he made every effort not to be alone. Unlike his brother, Thor liked being around people. True, Tony had holed himself up in his lair more and more, but he found comfort in knowing that if he needed him, Tony was still there. Then suddenly, he wasn't, and Thor had no idea how to fill the absence.

"I should have stopped by that last time I saw Jane." It was the one time he was on Midgard during those years he was out searching for Infinity Stones, save for his brief stop to look for his father. There hadn't been time then for any Avengers visits, but there had been post-breakup. "I was just ready to get off Midgard and go back to looking for the stones."

He hadn't found any stones, but Thor's sure he would have found more comfort drinking with Stark than he had traveling the universe in search of Infinity Stones he never ended up finding.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“I’d have welcomed you.” Tony squeezed Thor’s waist with his thighs, pulling himself up against the larger man’s form flush. “Taken you out for a day on the ice. Another burger.”

[st_ormbreaker]

"I have gotten better at ice skating, you know," Thor says. "Got some practice in after that time in New York."

He had dragged Jane there before the two of them left and he'd taken the opportunity to skate a few more times during his visits to Midgard. His skating was nothing to write home about, but he certainly didn't require Tony Stark or Jane Foster to help him keep his balance.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“Wow me.” He murmured in Thor’s ear. “Next time.”

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor, for once in his life, isn't sure he's capable of wowing Tony Stark with his skating skills, but he's willing to try.

"Been thinking about making it snow," he says. "Not sure I can do enough to freeze over the lake, though."

Besides that, Thor hasn't seen a pair of ice skates since he arrived here. It was entirely possible someone else might have, though. Or that the gift shop had some there. Thor rarely ventured there; he didn't often need anything other than food and drink and whatever he had already.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Coaxing Thor into settling his weight down on him, Tony relaxed even further. “I’ve got something special planned. For Christmas. Putting those long nights in the lair to good use.”

[st_ormbreaker]

"You going to share, or are you just being a tease?"

He's sure it's the latter, but maybe Tony would surprise him.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“You’ll like it.” Tony idly brought up the blonde bristles of Thor’s head to stand, stroking his head as if the man were still a dog. “My good boy.” He mumbled.

[st_ormbreaker]

And not entirely unlike a dog, Thor tilts his head so Tony's hands can lay waste to an itch.

"I'll look forward to it," Thor says. "You do anything special for the holiday that I should know about?"

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“I celebrate with the kids. The robotic ones. First time with some made of flesh and blood.” Of course, Tony had another robot he’d fashioned to keep him company in his room. It just needed the ceremonial Santa hat.

Tony’s fingers slowed once Thor seemed satisfied, his body going lax upon the couch. “It...” Another sigh. “It’s kind of a...”

[st_ormbreaker]

"Kind of a what?"

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

God, why was it so difficult to say? Tony nearly backed out with some mealy-mouthed reassurance but Thor would have smacked him.

"A...hard time of year. My parents died shortly before Christmas. Truth is, I only started getting into the spirit once Pep started staying over."

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor rolls them over and pulls Tony into a tight (but not too tight) hug.

"Whatever you need, just tell me."

Jane was far easier to comfort; he'd long learned the appropriate things to do and to say to help, but with Tony --

-- like everything with Tony, it was a mystery, and Thor didn't want it to be.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Tha-nks." He wheezed, giving his lungs a moment to adjust in his ribs as his head was pulled down to nest in the crook of the larger man's neck. "I don't even know what I need most days, I'll...be honest. But knowing you're thinking of me...if it's not nice then I don't know what is."

[st_ormbreaker]

Tony's breath is pleasantly warm on his neck. He loosens his hold on the other man, letting his hands fold loosely over him.

"The offer still stands if you decide you need it," he says. Thor knew Christmas was likely going to be harder than most, with Pepper absent and Bucky present.

"You know. You really should use that Stark tech of yours and dress up like Santa."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Reaching over for a forgotten box of blueberries balancing on the intact chair of the sofa, Tony grabbed a few to nibble on.

"Have people round up, sit on my lap, and beg for gifts?" He smirked. "Yeah. I can do that."

[st_ormbreaker]

"How would you feel if I asked Santa for a snake?"

Thor opens his mouth expectantly for Tony to feed him a blueberry of his own.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony thought for a moment--there had to be an index of snakes native to this region of California.

"I'd say...Santa would prepare his traps and cross his fingers." He dropped a berry in Thor's waiting lips.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor's eyes widen in surprise at Tony's answer; he was expecting some protest -- most people hated snakes, and a part of him was sure he could count Tony among that number.

Maybe he wasn't fond of them, but was willing to tolerate it. Thor wasn't sure. But regardless of the reason, Thor finds himself smiling as he chews away on his blueberry.

"What are you going to ask for from Santa?"

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony lowered another berry only to balance it on Thor's nose, recalling a trick he saw Rhodey's rottweiler do once. "Patience. Forgiveness. All those lame universal principles Kohlberg says I should've developed by now."

[st_ormbreaker]

"Santa can't give you those things," Thor says, trying to move his lips carefully so the blueberry stays right where Tony put it. It's in vain. Just as he gets the last syllable out, the berry falls and Thor only just manages to catch it before it hits the carpet.

Thor pops it into his mouth.

"I only started to learn the patience when father cast me down to Earth." He still had moments where his anger took hold and patience was thrown out of the window -- like that time he held Tony up by his throat. Those impulses had faded considerably over the two years he spent traveling the universe and Thor wasn't quite sure when it happened.

"Hopefully it doesn't take you as long as I did."